'Metro: Last Light' welcomes you to the end of the world

Updated 10:48 pm, Friday, May 17, 2013

Media: San Antonio Express-News

There is a Russian saying dating to pre-Bolshevik Russia that unfortunately I can not share, as our publishing platform does not recognize Russian. (I don't know, something to do with 1940s Hungarian solidarity.)

Anyway, the phrase is best read and most appreciated in its native Russian, so email me and I'll hit you back with the exact wording, but for now here is the equivalent rough translation:

“When fighting Germans, or engaged in a first-person shooter, only the fool forgets his Kalashnikov.” That wisdom got me through seven years of college, so don't pshaw.

Now, imagine the world has been blown to a fare-thee-well during the near-nuclear extinction of 2013. You live in a vast tunnel system beneath Moscow with the pathetic remnants of humanity, and just for fun, National Socialism is back en vogue and Nazis and communists have renewed their loving waltz from the 1930s and '40s. On the surface and below are mutated creatures waiting to tear you apart. Oh yes, don't forget that supernatural beings called the Dark Ones are still spooking around.

Pozdravlyayu! Welcome once more to the intensely depressing world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky's “Metro 2033“ in the new game “Metro: Last Light.“

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In the intensely depressing world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky’s “Metro 2033,” in the new game “Metro: Last Light,” you live in a vast tunnel system beneath Moscow

In the intensely depressing world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky’s “Metro 2033,” in the new game “Metro: Last Light,” you live in a vast tunnel system beneath Moscow

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Welcome once more to the world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky's "Metro 2033," in the new game "Metro Last Light." It is a sequel to the first video game and based directly off Glukhovskyís book series.

Welcome once more to the world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky's "Metro 2033," in the new game "Metro Last Light." It is a sequel to the first video game and based directly off Glukhovskyís book series.

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"Metro: Last Light"

"Metro: Last Light"

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"Metro: Last Light"

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"Metro: Last Light"

"Metro: Last Light"

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In the intensely depressing world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky's “Metro 2033,” in the new game “Metro: Last Light,” you live in a vast tunnel system beneath Moscow.

In the intensely depressing world of author Dmitry Glukhovsky's “Metro 2033,” in the new game “Metro: Last Light,” you live in a vast tunnel system beneath Moscow.

Photo: Courtesy Deep Silver

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'Metro: Last Light' welcomes you to the end of the world

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It is a sequel to the first video game and also based directly off Glukhovsky's book series.

The game picks a year after the end of “Metro 2033.” You reprise the role of Artyom, who is now a member of the vaunted Rangers (a third faction vying for underground dominance).

War is set to break out between various factions over a “doomsday device” hidden in the tunnels. You, as Artyom, hold a secret that might keep humanity's light from blowing out.

Not sure if that “doomsday device” is connected to former Soviet Premier Dimitri Kisov, but I'm mixing mediums again. Moving on.

At its core, “Metro Last Light” is a game of survival. Meager resources force you to think through every action to accomplish goals. The only form of currency is ammunition, so you can't go blasting your way down every nook and cranny.

Sadly, strict adherence to linear game play, story and mission design limits you a bit, and it's the only major mark against the title.

Game mechanics in this sequel have improved greatly over the first game. The play demonstrates a tighter feel in movement as well as in aiming and gun control, though you will need a while to become familiar with controller and menu management, as switching between gear is frustrating.

The stealth play in the game is excellent, and becoming best friends with shadows and darkness is essential, though quick jaunts to the surface breaks this up a bit.

But it is far easier, and more logical, to make your way in the game by creeping from one stealth kill to the next.

As such, the pacing of the game is slow, but with your concentration fully on the “sneak,” you won't mind all that much.

Once you get past the game's snail's pace beginning, the story opens up and you begin to bond with its characters, which are engaging and endearing in an all-hope-is-lost sort of way. Sound and graphics both complement game play but stand out only in that they are cleaner and better done than in the original game.

Play during the day if you can. Several hours into its dark and depressing themes and I was ripping through medicine cabinets hoping at some point my wife or I was on Zoloft and had leftovers.